Letters to the editor: Last name defeats Kelly

It felt good to push the Democratic straight party ticket button at the polls on Nov. 5.

It's not because I believe the best candidates were all from the Democratic Party. I just couldn't take a chance on electing any Republican who may hold tea party obstructionist beliefs.

Erie County was gerrymandered by Republican state legislators specifically to divide the Erie city vote.

I suggest the only reason that Bill Kelly, the Democratic candidate for Erie County judge, lost his race is because city voters are gearing up to defeat U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly. Too bad for Bill Kelly, having to share the same surname. Besides, not many citizens outside the legal profession have a clue who would make the best judge.

People who run for political office should be interested in solving problems, not in promoting animosity as their centerpiece accomplishment. It's refreshing to listen to Republican politicians who understand what's important, but they have become few.

I know our forefathers and God would agree with me.

Ray JonesErie

Some veterans

treated poorly

As a Vietnam-era veteran, I was dismayed to discover that the Veterans Affairs Medical Center does not cover all veterans any longer.

Only those who qualify financially are covered, a policy put into effect during the George W. Bush administration. It seems we can no longer afford to care for all veterans.

Not only did I not qualify for VA benefits, which in and of itself is not the worst thing, but I am not eligible for any sort of veterans ID card.

The VA only gives ID cards to veterans who qualify for medical benefits. The only thing I have to show for my service is my DD Form 214, the Holy Grail of military service. This is the document every vet receives upon his or her discharge from military service.

The Pennsylvania Legislature recently enacted a law to allow the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation to note veteran status on your driver's license.

However, they also allowed them 18 months to initiate this program. I would suggest that in today's computer era, that is about 17 months too long.

All veterans I know are proud of their service to their country. Don't you think they ought to be able to display and prove it?

Don BatesMillcreek Township

Why limit voting

to one day?

Twice each year, for nearly as long as I can remember, the news media and some of our elected leaders lament the embarrassingly small voter turnout at elections. Maybe it would help to bring the voting process into the 21st century.

Why must elections be limited to one day? Couldn't Pennsylvania residents vote over several days or even a week, as is the case in many other states?

Why must voters be forced to travel to a designated polling location and struggle with an awkward voting machine? More and more Americans shop online. They do their banking and investing online. They submit their taxes online. Security issues haven't been serious enough to slow this progress.

Imagine how many more people might vote if they could do it more conveniently. Isn't this the advantage and the promise of technology?

Doug LaymanFairview

Reasonable gun

policies needed

I like guns, own a few, and plink occasionally. A well-designed and manufactured gun has, to me, a certain mechanical aesthetic. Doubtless my taste is perverse. But presumably every person of good will would like to see further harm reduction from insane people using guns in mass shootings.

It's impossible to literally "control guns." There are simply too many of them, and manufacturers will always find design changes to get around legislation. With least curtailment of freedom and civil rights, we must identify, take into custody and humanely treat people likely to commit such acts.

Access to sites where mass shootings occur must be hardened, like courthouse entry points. Capital hardening, (e.g., small arms blast hardening of access points) will appear more expensive at the start but ultimately will be cheaper and more effective than labor hardening (armed guards).

Serious people, as opposed to propagandists, should be discussing (in media-quieted rooms) the following questions: Who should pay for the harm reduction needed, and what shares should they pay? Should everybody's tax money have to pay? How about individual gun buyers? Don't our interests require paying a share? How about gun manufacturers? How about the hybrid gun interest organizations like the National Rifle Association?

Science and technology dictate that ever more power, destructive as well as constructive, will become available to individuals. Unless we get serious, we will be increasingly subject to random violence with guns, flammable or explosive bombs, and eventually worse.

Robert CoganEdinboro

We must limit

government

There are a few problems that keep cropping up as I read and listen to the events being debated these days. I have been trying to find in the U.S. Constitution the words "agriculture," "health," "education" and "energy," to name a few.

These words are not to be found in the Constitution. Therefore, it becomes obvious the national government is not to be in the business of health, agriculture, education, etc.

When government becomes involved in unconstitutional business, it is always overhauling and fixing what it creates. Numerous rules and regulations about how to run our schools, all sorts of regulations for agriculture, numerous regulations for you, your doctor and hospital: the list goes on and on.

Stop and ponder this: It is all done with your money. The president, the Supreme Court, senators and representatives live from your pockets, make their own perks, and you foot the bill. Remember, also, those thousands of people working for the government in one way or another are living off your money.

Just think of all the money you might have if all three branches of government followed their oath of office to defend and abide by the Constitution.

When you get out of bed tomorrow and count your pennies, what will you choose? Slavery by government or freedom to live your own life the way you wish, be it for good or bad.

Socialism or the Constitution, it is your call. Government has no money. You foot the bill.